Research in Support of Youth Voice and Service-Learning | National Service-Learning Clearinghouse

Source: RMC Research Corporation, May 2007.

Youth voice refers to the process of involving young people in decisions that affect their own lives and those of their peers. Recently, there has been a growing trend toward increasing youth voice in service-learning, schools, and community organizations (Zeldin, et al. 2003; Coalition of Community Foundations for Youth, 2002). Having opportunities to be heard and to partner with adults in improving schools and communities can help young people master developmental tasks. Additionally, these opportunities can encourage youth to form stronger commitments to school and community and to act as agents of social change.

High quality service-learning provides youth with an avenue for the expression of voice in school and community and is also a characteristic of high quality programs. In service-learning, voice has been defined as "the inclusion of young people as a meaning part of the creation and implementation of service opportunities" (Fredericks, Kaplan, & Zeisler, 2001, p. 1).

Experts suggest several strategies for encouraging youth voice. In service-learning, voice is enhanced when practitioners ensure that all partners have a clear understanding of its meaning and "buy into" its importance; give youth opportunities for input into all stages of service-learning projects; and scaffold young people's capacities to assume responsibility (Fredericks, Kaplan, & Zeisler, 2001). In schools, strategies for promoting voice include gathering information from students through surveys and focus groups, involving students as researchers, and engaging students as equal partners in school reform. In communities, young people can provide meaningful input by consulting with government leaders about public policy, participating in community coalitions, engaging in organizational decision making, activism, and carrying out service-learning projects (Camino & Zeldin, 2002).

Research in support of youth voice

Research on service-learning practice confirms the notion that voice is both an outcome of service-learning and an element of quality.

The Growing to Greatness 2005 study of service-learning conducted by Harris Interactive for the National Youth Leadership Council showed that most participants felt that they improved their relationship with adults (including parents and teachers) and were exposed to important positive role models as a result of service-learning. A subset of participants who took part in a focus group indicated that their service- learning experience provided them with leadership roles that helped them to be more responsible and mature.
Billig, Jesse, & Root (2006) found that high school students whose teachers allowed them to have input into the selection, design, implementation, and evaluation of service-learning projects made greater gains in civic knowledge.
Morgan & Streb (2003) discovered that students who had more opportunities to express their voice in service-learning projects made greater gains in political knowledge, were less cynical about government, and had a greater desire to be politically active than others.

Research on service-learning practice confirms the notion that voice is both an outcome of service-learning and an element of quality.

The Growing to Greatness 2005 study of service-learning conducted by Harris Interactive for the National Youth Leadership Council showed that most participants felt that they improved their relationship with adults (including parents and teachers) and were exposed to important positive role models as a result of service-learning. A subset of participants who took part in a focus group indicated that their service- learning experience provided them with leadership roles that helped them to be more responsible and mature.
Billig, Jesse, & Root (2006) found that high school students whose teachers allowed them to have input into the selection, design, implementation, and evaluation of service-learning projects made greater gains in civic knowledge.
Morgan & Streb (2003) discovered that students who had more opportunities to express their voice in service-learning projects made greater gains in political knowledge, were less cynical about government, and had a greater desire to be politically active than others.

Research in schools shows that when students have a voice there they gain a greater sense of ownership and improved engagement.

Fielding (2001) found that students who conducted research on issues in school generated new insights into the curriculum and helped shape the training of preservice teachers.
Delp, Brown & Domenzain (2005) found positive impacts for the POWER youth empowerment project to educate and develop youth leaders in the area of workplace and community environmental hazards students’ levels of knowledge about resource organizations and government agencies, and development of analytic and leadership skills.
Mitra (2004) found that high school students who were given opportunities for voice in school made gains in three characteristics associated with positive youth development: Agency, Belongingness, and Competence.
Oldfather (1995) found that enhancing student voice in school gave disconnected youth a sense of ownership and helped them to re-connect to school.Research on youth voice in communities indicates that it provides young people with opportunities to address developmental issues and positively affects adult decision-makers and community organizations.
In a study of youth governance in community organizations, Zeldin (2003) found that leadership opportunities helped a majority of youth explore identity issues and gain a sense of connectedness to the community.
Zeldin et al. (2000) found that adults in community organizations where young people played leadership roles developed more favorable views of youth and confidence in their ability to interact with them and a stronger sense of connection to the community. In addition, organizations which included youth in leadership positions adapted their missions and goals to include youth-oriented language and their policies and practices to routinely include youth. became more responsive to the needs of youth.

Resources

Chekoway, B. (2001). Adults as allies. Retrieved from http://ww2.wkkf.org/DesktopModules/WKF.00_DmaSupport/ViewDoc.aspx?fld=PDFFile&CID=0&ListID=28&ItemID=30564&LanguageID=0
This workbook provides suggestions for ensuring the quality of youth participation in the community, including strategies for reflection activities and for developing youth leaders.

Fredericks, L., Kaplan, E., & Zeisler, J. (2001). Integrating Youth Voice in Service-Learning. Learning In Deed Issue Paper. Education Commission of the States, Denver, CO.
This report provides profiles of exemplary programs and recommendations resources for those interested in incorporating youth voice in service learning programs.

Harvard Family Research Project. (2001). The Evaluation Exchange, 7(2).
This issue of the exchange is devoted to the topic of improving after-school programs through evaluation. It describes the role of developmental research, and summarizes the results of several evaluation studies.

The Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development
The goal of the Innovation Center is to help youth, adults, organizations, and communities work together for a more just, equitable society. The center provides training and consultation, as well as publications, such as a toolkit for charting assets and making community change http://www.theinnovationcenter.org/

National Network for Youth
The National Network for Youth is a national and international network committed to meeting the needs of disconnected youth, including runaway, homeless, and GLBT young people through advocacy, professional development, and services. The Network publishes information and guides on topics such as homeless youth, becoming a youth advocate, and using the community youth development approach. http://www.nn4youth.org/

National 4-H Council
The mission of the National 4-H Council is to "build a world in which youth and adults learn, grow and work together as catalysts for positive change." Among its initiatives is a grant program for young people who want to take action on issues critical to their lives and a program to support leadership development among rural youth. http://www.4-h.org/

Soundout
Soundout is a national non-profit resource center working with schools, education agencies, and community organizations to promote student voice in school. Its website offers a Student Voice Toolkit with links to publications and other resources, such as guidelines for promoting meaningful student involvement, tools for assessing student voice, and examples of student research on schools. www.soundout.org

Villarruel, F., Perkins, D., Borden, L., & Keith, J. (2003). Community youth development: Programs, policies, and practices. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications
This volume describes the community youth development movement, whose goals are to help communities nurture positive youth development and engage young people as partners in improving their communities. Chapters offer ideas for applying this approach to work, after-school, and juvenile justice programs, and for strengthening the capacities of adults and youth programs.

YouthBuild USA
YouthBuild is a national program in which unemployed youth construct affordable homes in their communities, while at the same time furthering their education. Participants in YouthBuild learn skills for advocacy and share in the governance of their local YouthBuild programs. (http://www.youthbuild.org) Youth on Board is a subsidiary organization of YouthBuild that provides training and resources to prepare youth to be community leaders and to strengthen relationships between young people and adults.

References

Billig, S., Jesse, D., & Root, S. (2006). The impact of service-learning on high school students’ civic engagement. Evaluation report prepared for the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Denver, CO: RMC Research Corporation.

Camino, L. (2000). Youth-adult partnerships: Entering new territory in community work and research. Applied Developmental Science, 4, 11-20.

Camino, L., & Zeldin, S. (2002). From periphery to center: Pathways for youth civic engagement in the day-to-day life of communities. Applied Developmental Science, 6(4), 213-220.

Delp, L., Brown, M., & Domenzain, A. (2005). Fostering of youth leadership to address workplace and community environmental health issues: A university-school-community partnership. Health Promotion Practice, 6(3), 270-285.

Fielding, J. (2001). Students as radical agents of change. Journal of Educational Change, 2, 123-141.

Fredericks, L., Kaplan, E., & Zeisler, J. (2001). Integrating youth voice in service-learning. Learning In Deed Issue Paper. Denver, CO: Education Commission of the States.

Kielsmeier, J., Scales, P., Koehikepartain, E., & Neal, M. (2004). Community service and service-learning in public schools. Reclaiming Children and Youth, 13(3), 138-143.

Martin, S., Neal, M., Kielsmeier, J., & Crossley, A. (2006). The impact of service-learning on transitions to adulthood. Excerpted from Growing to Greatness 2006. Available from the NYLC Resource Center at http://www.nylc.org.

Mitra, D. (2004). The significance of students. Can increasing "student voice" in schools leader to gains in youth development? Teachers College Records, 106(4), 651-688.

Morgan, W., & Streb, M. (2003). First do no harm: The importance of student ownership in service-learning. Metropolitan State Universities, 14(3), 36-52.

Oldfather, P. (1995). Songs "come back most to them": Students' experiences as researchers. Theory into Practice, 34(2), 131.

Zeldin, S. (2004). Youth as agents of adult and community development: Mapping the processes and outcomes of youth engaged in organizational governance. Applied Developmental Science, 8(4), 75-90.

Zeldin, S., McDaniel, A., Topitzes, D., & Calvert, M. (2000). Youth in decision-making: A study on the impacts of youth on adults and organizations. Retrieved from http://www.glsen.org/binary-data/GLSEN_ATTACHMENTS/file/130-1.pdf

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